


Green

by Writingwife83



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Arguing, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Neighbors, Unresolved Romantic Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-21
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:46:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24832576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Writingwife83/pseuds/Writingwife83
Summary: Ben is annoyed by the excessive plant life on his upstairs neighbor’s balcony, which is directly over his. He eventually reaches his breaking point and decides to confront them.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 37
Kudos: 197





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This plot bunny hit me suddenly when I saw a picture of a city balcony garden and thought about how much Rey loves greenery. I can picture her packing the plants in like mad even if she only has a small space to do so lol.

It all started three weeks ago. Ben had walked out on his balcony in the evening, not a cloud in the sky. And yet, after standing there for a few moments, he felt something dripping on his head. Glancing upward and scowling, he looked around but failed to see the source of the unsolicited moisture, shrugging it off. 

Some days later, the very same thing happened. Stepping outside one morning, water had unexpectedly started dripping on the dress shirt he’d just put on. Even more frustrated that time, Ben tried to peer up through the very fine spaces between the boards of the balcony above him. Leaning over his balcony and looking upward, he saw countless vines and plants overflowing from the railing above. He shook his head, irritated but at least feeling pretty sure he’d located the source of the problem. Someone in the apartment above clearly had a stupidly green thumb. 

Another week later, there was yet another incident. Ben was sitting on his balcony, his laptop set out on the little table, determined to enjoy the mid-spring day. As he began working, drops started falling onto his keyboard _._

He glared up, this time actually hearing some footsteps on the balcony. 

“Hey, you up there!” Ben yelled, but there was no response.

A second later and he heard some slightly off key singing along with the muted hum of music coming from someone’s headphones or earbuds. 

Ben again tried yelling to whoever was up there, but to no avail. Letting out a little growl of frustration, he finally picked up his laptop and phone and retreated inside to work where he was safe from being so rudely rained on.

But one particular bright, Sunday morning was the last straw for Ben Solo.

He stepped outside, feeling rested after sleeping in a bit and enjoying a late breakfast. And that morning, as he often did on weekends, he made himself a latte, complete with foam and a sprinkle of cinnamon on top. But just before he could lift the warm cup to his lips, he saw drops fall from the balcony above and land _right in his latte._

“Ok, _that’s_ _it_!” Ben yelled aloud, marching back into his apartment and tossing the latte in the sink along with the cup, almost hard enough to break it.

He was still in his pajama bottoms and undershirt, but he couldn’t care less, rushing out of his door and flying up the staircase to the floor above, counting the doors until he reached the one for the apartment directly above his. He immediately started pounding on the door and barely gave the occupant much time to answer before going a second round, even louder that time.

A man walked past him, giving him a conspicuous glance which only made his temper flare further.

“Who lives in this unit?” Ben demanded of the poor man.

“Uh, I- I dunno...a girl.”

“ _What girl_?!”

“I don’t know, dude. She moved in a few weeks ago,” The man continued on his way briskly, clearly not wanting to be involved in whatever was going on.

Jaw clenched, Ben turned back to the door, his fist beginning its onslaught once again. He didn’t get far the third time though, because the door finally flew open. And as furious as he must have looked, the eyes he was now looking into gave him a run for his money.

And not just her eyes.

“Is there a fire or something?” The woman demanded. 

He faltered for a split second, feeling like the wind was suddenly knocked out of him. He swallowed hard, fully processing everything in front of him. _Oh God_...she was in a towel.

“Y-your balcony,” Ben started, attempting to string words together coherently as he saw a droplet run down her collarbone. 

“Yeah, what about my balcony?!” She was practically spitting the words at him. “Again, is it on fire? Because I’m pretty sure that’s the only explanation for you nearly breaking my door down!” 

She glanced behind her and then lifted her one free hand in question. “Nope! No fire! What else could possibly be wrong with my balcony that would excuse _this_?”

Ben cleared his throat, regaining a bit of his composure and deciding to try again to actually express his complaint.

“You’ve got plants all over your balcony, right?”

She shrugged. “What about them?”

“Well you’re gonna need to come up with some way to water them so that the water doesn’t run down onto the floorboards. I’ve been dripped on multiple times in the past few weeks and this morning-“

“Hold on, hold on,” she interrupted. “So you had a few harmless little drops of water fall on you over the past few weeks and it prompted you to come up here and beat my door down like some sort of psycho?”

Ben raised a brow, a little less flustered as some irritation returned. “Yeah that’s right. Because those harmless little drops of water have fallen on me, my _laptop_ , and this morning my _coffee_ . So I’d say your gardening is encroaching on _my_ rental space, and if that doesn’t change I’m going to have to report you.” 

She yanked her head back in mock surprise. “Report _me_? Wow, well I certainly hope you get to the apartment police before I do, because I’m pretty sure I could report you as well. At least my leaking plants weren’t maliciously hunting you down!”

“I dunno, there’s so many that they might just start snaking their way down to my balcony and attacking me soon,” Ben shot back sarcastically. “Who needs that many plants on a balcony that size anyway?” 

“The city could use more green!” she sneered. “And maybe if you had a few plants in your living space you’d be a happier person and not such a bloody _monster_!”

Ben’s eyes stayed silently locked onto hers for a long moment before he let out a short laugh. 

“Right, that’s me- a monster,” he confirmed, the words coming out a little more deflated than he intended. 

Of course that was how he came off. That’s how most people saw him, so why should this lovely young woman be any different? Especially when he did practically break her door down in a childish fit. Any remaining adrenaline had worn off by then and he kicked himself, wondering how this encounter might be going had he tried actually being pleasant. He’d never know now.

The woman before him renewed her grasp on the towel around her chest and squared her shoulders, clearly still on the defensive but also calming slightly, appearing almost contrite for a moment.

“Look, I’ll just- I’ll let you get back to your shower,” Ben added quietly, turning to walk away. “And hopefully I won’t be having any more of my own on my balcony.”

“Hey, what’s your name?”

He turned back toward her again, surprised at her now almost friendly tone.

“I’m Ben.”

She gave him a little nod. “Well, I’m Rey. I just figured, next time you decide to complain, we can both know who we’re yelling at.”

The corner of his lips involuntarily twitched upward and just before she retreated and shut her door, he could have sworn he saw hers do the same.

Ben suddenly began to hope he’d have reason to complain again _very_ soon.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 3 months later and I finally get around to adding more to this. Yes it could have stayed a one shot, but I also felt kinda like there was more to be told here. Hope you guys enjoy it! ;)

Ben turned his dishwasher on, poured himself a glass of water, and shut the kitchen light off with a little sigh. It had been a long Friday, and frankly a long week, so it was definitely time to turn in for the night. He was looking forward to a restful and uneventful weekend until Monday morning rolled around again. 

As he left his kitchen and shuffled toward his bedroom though, he heard something coming from outside. The moment he began following the noises toward his balcony, it became clear there were definitely voices. He grimaced in confusion as he drank some of the cool water, trying to figure out exactly what he was hearing. 

The moment he opened his balcony door, he realized that was definitely Rey’s voice he could hear above. She had to have her balcony door open as well because it was pretty loud. 

“No no!” she yelled. “Don’t!”

Ben heard a man's voice yelling as well. 

“Oh you’d better get out of my way or I’m moving you myself!”

Rey screamed and that’s when Ben's blood ran cold. Something was happening up there and it definitely wasn’t good. He set his glass down and stepped out onto the balcony, peering upward where he could see light coming from Rey’s apartment. 

“Hello?” Ben called. “Hey, Rey, you ok up there?”

Rey screamed again. “Ugh! I hate you!”

”You’re not getting away this time!” the man yelled. 

That’s when Ben heard a loud crash like something had fallen and broken. Adrenaline instantly flooded his body, head to toe. He threw sneakers on and grabbed his phone and keys, shoving them in his pocket, and hurried out of his apartment. 

He flew up to the next floor, climbing about three steps at a time, and raced down the hallway until he was at her apartment. Ben immediately began pounding on the door.

“Rey?! Rey!” He paused only a split second before knocking again with full force. “If someone doesn’t open this door in about ten seconds I’m breaking it down, you hear me?!”

After slamming his fist against the door a few more times, Ben backed up, taking a few deep breaths and preparing to use every muscle in his body to get into that apartment. Just before he was about to charge though, the door swung open and he found himself face to face with Rey, who thankfully looked perfectly safe and sound. Ben released a breath of relief, perching his hands on his hips. 

“Oh, thank God, I’m glad you’re-“

“What the  _ hell _ is wrong with you?”

Ben stared back at her, a little confused at the biting response.

“I just- I heard loud voices and-“

“Ok so first it’s my plants that are aggressively dripping onto your balcony that makes you nearly break my door down, and now it’s  _ noise _ ?”

A man stepped into the doorway next to Rey.

“Rey, what’s going on?” He scowled at Ben, crossing his arms. “Who is this guy? Is he bothering you?”

Ben felt his shackles rising again. 

“Am  _ I _ bothering her?” He huffed. “I think the better question is if  _ you’re _ bothering her!” 

The man’s brows shot up and he took a step forward. “Excuse me?!”

Rey shoved herself in front of the man, putting her palms up in protest.

“Hold on, hold on!” She turned to face Ben again. “Look, I dunno what your problem is but I think you’d better go.”

“I’m not leaving until I’m sure things are safe up here,” Ben insisted, standing his ground and giving the man behind her a hard stare.

Rey grimaced. “Safe? Why wouldn’t things be safe?”

Ben pointed toward Rey’s balcony. “Your door was open. It’s past midnight, I could hear you guys screaming at each other from all the way downstairs, and it was pretty obvious things were getting physical, so I don’t really like the idea of going back downstairs and leaving you alone with him still-“

He stopped short when he realized that both Rey and this man had started...laughing? Ben had a difficult time seeing what could be funny and at this point he was just getting annoyed.

“I’m so sorry,” Rey sputtered out. “We were playing a  _ video game _ ! That’s what you heard!”

Ben froze for a moment, embarrassment slowly starting to creep in as the weight of that statement sunk in. 

“Oh...my God,” he muttered, running a hand through his hair. “I- I went on my balcony and called up to see if you were ok and you didn’t answer.”

“Headphones,” the man replied simply, pointing to the coffee table where two sets of headphones lay.

“Right.” Ben nodded sheepishly. “Headphones.”

“We finally paused the game cuz I knocked my lamp over and broke it, like an idiot,” Rey explained with a laugh. “That’s when I heard you practically knocking a hole through my door.”

“Thankfully you caught me before I broke it down.”

The man laughed. 

“You kinda look like you  _ could _ break it down. I’m glad I didn’t have to try and fight you because I feel like that wouldn’t have gone well for me.” He offered his hand. “Hey, I’m Finn.”

Ben gave him a small smile and accepted the hand shake. “Ben. Good to meet you.”

A door opened across the hall, catching their attention. 

“What exactly is going on out here at this time of night?” an older woman asked sternly. 

“Sorry, Maz! Just a little misunderstanding but it’s all cleared up,” Rey replied kindly. “We’ll keep it down now, I promise.”

She shoved Finn back into the apartment, and before Ben knew what was happening he felt Rey take hold of his tee shirt and tug him inside as well, shutting the door after them.

“Oh you don’t have to- I mean, I can just go back downstairs now that I know everything’s fine,” Ben offered, now definitely feeling like he was imposing. 

He hated to admit it, but more than likely this was Rey’s boyfriend, so what were the chances they wanted anyone else hanging out with them after midnight? 

Rey shrugged as she opened her fridge. “I know it’s late, so you don’t have to stay if you don’t want, but we’re happy to have you. Right, Finn?”

“Absolutely,” Finn agreed, and seemed to mean it. 

“Besides, I just wanted to clear out of the hallway before Maz calls anyone. She’s sweet but you don’t want to be on her bad side.” Rey pried the top off a bottle she’d just taken out of the fridge and held it out to Ben with a smile. “Beer?”

Ben held her gaze for another second of deliberation, then finally reached out and took the bottle, his fingers brushing over Rey’s as he did. The amount of pleasant electricity he felt from the first touch of her skin against his made him hope he wasn’t visibly blushing. Especially with her boyfriend standing right there watching!

“Thanks,” Ben said quietly and took a swig. “I guess I’ll stay for a few minutes.”

A few minutes turned into more than an hour. 

Ben tried his best to fend them off, but a few minutes after they’d all sat down Rey and Finn insisted he play the video game as well. It wasn’t really his thing but when Rey actually took his hand and placed the controller in it, he found himself unable to keep saying no. Despite himself, he had a pretty fantastic time. Maybe this was a better antidote to his long week at work than turning in early.

“I taught her everything she knows,” Finn boasted playfully as Ben set the controller down after being heated by Rey.

“Don’t listen to him! He barely ever beats me.” Rey gave Finn a little shove then smiled at Ben. “I guess we’ve always been a little competitive.”

Ben glanced between the two of them in curiosity. “Always?”

Rey took a sip of her beer, nodding. “We’ve known each other since we were kids. We were in the same foster home for a couple of years and we’ve kept in touch ever since.”

“Yeah, she’s the annoying sister I never had,” Finn added, which earned him another shove.

Ben nodded, intense relief washing over him as he realized that these two had a  _ very _ different relationship than he initially assumed. 

“So…” Finn spoke up again. “You  _ are _ the guy who freaked out over the dripping plants right?”

“Finn!” Rey hissed, covering her face as she stifled a laugh.

Ben chuckled, shrugging one shoulder in resignation. “Yep, that’s me.”

“I’ve been a little more careful lately,” Rey said with a little smile. “Trying to water them late at night when you probably wouldn’t be out there. It’s not that I didn’t care at all, it was just…”

“I was a jerk.”

“Yeah, basically,” Rey confirmed, and they both laughed a little.

“Trust me, I’ve told her it’s a little bit of an addiction,” Finn interjected. “As you can see, there’s an entire collection of plants  _ inside _ too!”

Ben glanced around. “I definitely can see that.”

“You two can laugh all you want, but I’m willing to bet that the air is way cleaner in my apartment than yours is,” Rey shot back playfully. “Don’t come crying to me when the city air is choking you!”

As quiet set in again, Ben found that Rey’s eyes had settled on him and he also realized he was having trouble looking away. But as much as he was enjoying this, he was still self conscious enough that he didn’t want to overstay his welcome.

“Well, thanks for the beer. And the game,” Ben said, taking his empty bottle and standing. “I should probably head back downstairs.”

Finn stood as well, stretching a little. “Yeah, I should go too. I’ll save Rey the trouble of kicking me out like usual.”

Ben put his bottle in the recycling and made his way to the door along with Finn and Rey. He watched awkwardly as the two of them embraced warmly and Rey gave Finn a kiss on the cheek.

“I’ll text you later ok?”

“Sounds good. Hey, nice to meet you Ben.”

Ben gave him a little nod. “You too.”

Ben stepped into the hallway along with Finn, but he hung back a little as Finn continued walking.

“Sorry about the aggressive entrance...again,” Ben said once they were alone.

Rey smiled. “It’s ok. At least this time you have a more noble excuse. Thanks, by the way.”

Ben shrugged. “I didn’t do anything.”

“Yeah but you would have. You were ready to break down my door because you thought someone was hurting me. I’d say that’s pretty nice.”

He gave her a little smirk. “Well naturally I was pretty concerned for all the plants. I mean, where would they be if something happened to you?”

She laughed, leaning on her door frame. “Now that I know you care so much I’m definitely leaving them all to you in my will.”

Silence set in again and Ben decided he was really going to make himself leave this time.

“Ok, well, thanks again. Maybe I’ll see you around.”

“What about tomorrow?”

Ben blinked, taken aback for a moment. “Tomorrow?”

“Yeah, maybe you want to come back upstairs for a movie and some pizza tomorrow night.”

He pressed his lips together, hesitating a bit. “If you guys already have plans I don’t want to keep intruding.”

Rey’s eyes suddenly seemed to be sparkling and she gave him a gentle smile. “Actually...I just meant with me.”

Oh, just her.

_ Oh _ .

Ben swallowed hard, trying to remember how to form words as the nature of this invitation was becoming clearer.

“Sure, I’d like that,” he somehow managed.

The grin she gave him was more beautiful than anything he’d seen in a long time.

“Ok great. Oh!” She reached out. “Hey, can I see your phone?”

Ben fished it out of his pocket, unlocked it and handed it over. He was a little rusty so it took him a moment to realize what she was doing as he watched her typing.

“There,” Rey said with a smile, finally handing his phone back as he heard a little ding inside her apartment. She pointed behind her. “That was you texting me. And now you have my number.”

Ben glanced down at the message screen, instantly letting out a short laugh. 

-THANKS FOR INVITING ME OVER TOMORROW NIGHT SO I DON’T HAVE TO KEEP LOOKING FOR REASONS TO BREAK YOUR DOOR DOWN :)

And just like that, Ben was no longer hoping for a quiet and uneventful weekend. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who knows, maybe in 3 more months I’ll add a third part lol! But seriously, hopefully this feels a little more complete to anyone who wanted more. :) And thanks to Lexie for giving it a read through!

**Author's Note:**

> This is one of those things that works on its own, but could also go places. At this point it is what it is...but never say never. :)


End file.
